| Joseph City, Arizona | |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place (CDP) |
| Image Alt: | Welcome to Joseph City |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 34.9558°N -110.3339°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Navajo |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Date: | 1876 |
| Established Title2: | Unincorporated |
| Area Total Km2: | 19.20 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 7.41 |
| Area Land Km2: | 19.17 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 7.40 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.04 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation Ft: | 5043 |
| Population Total: | 1307 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 68.19 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 176.62 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −7 |
| Timezone Dst: | no DST/PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −7 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 86032 |
| Area Code: | 928 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS ID(s) |
| Blank1 Info: | 2582803 |
Joseph City (elevation 5,000 ft) is a Census Designated Place located in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is located on Interstate 40, approximately eighty miles east of Flagstaff and about thirty-five miles west of Petrified Forest National Park. In 2010, there were 1,386 inhabitants.[2]
Joseph City was settled in 1876 by colonists who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This band of 73 pioneers was led by Captain William C. Allen.[3] They traveled to the Little Colorado River basin of Arizona. Joseph City was one of four Little Colorado River colonies.[4] The other colonies were Brigham City, Sunset, and Obed. Joseph City is the only remaining colony.[5]
The hardest challenge for the new colonists was trying to get water for their crops. This meant that they had to tame the Little Colorado River, which was difficult due to the flooding season that would destroy dams along the river. The first dam was built in 1876, shortly after the colonists arrived in the area. In the next 18 years the colonists built ten more dams. The eleventh dam was built in 1894. This dam lasted 29 years. In 1923, the eleventh dam was destroyed and the colonists were forced to build a new dam. This dam still currently stands and directs water to the inhabitants still in the city.[6]
The name of the colony changed twice since its founding. The area settled by Captain Allen's group was called Allen's Camp, in honor of their leader. The name changed in January 1878 to St. Joseph. This change came about when the Little Colorado Stake was organized, to honor Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1923 there was a final name change to Joseph City. Due to mail and freight shipment confusion, the Santa Fe Railway, which also ran through Saint Joseph, Missouri, asked St. Joseph, Arizona to change its name. The residents of the town voted and the name became Joseph City.[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.41sqmi, of which 7.4sqmi is land and 0.01sqmi is water.
Joseph City has a semi-arid climate (BSk) with cold to cool winters and hot summers. Although the mean snowfall is 0.16m (00.52feet), the median is zero, so the majority of winters do not have measurable snow.
The Cholla Power Plant is located near Joseph City.
Joseph City is served by the Joseph City Unified School District. Two schools, Joseph City Elementary School, and Joseph City High School, serve the community. Their schools have a very high AIMS standard. The current Superintendent of Joseph City Unified School District is Bryan Fields.[8]